Que: In your view, how has the strategy for energy solutions evolved over the past decade, particularly in terms of sustainability and decarbonization?

Ans: Over the past decade, the energy landscape has witnessed significant shifts, especially in the space of ‘Power’ and ‘Fuel’. A decade ago, power demand was primarily met through coal-powered thermal plants. However, in recent years, there has been a decline in investments in coal plants, and increased investments in renewable energy (RE) sources, especially solar and wind. This has more than doubled the share of RE in the energy mix.

To ensure a sustainable growth of RE in the grid, the last few years have also seen momentum for the development of energy storage solutions, although it remains in nascent stages. This also includes the gradual growth of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) driven by solar panels/ plants, complementing the grid power in an environmentally friendly manner. All these efforts, to some extent, have contributed to the decarbonization of the grid. Furthermore, sustainability has been driven through the development and promotion of energy-efficient technologies through standards such as Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) certifications.

In the fuel space, a decade ago, the demand was dominated by oil products (diesel, gasoline, natural gas, etc.) which generated huge amounts of carbon emissions. The last decade has witnessed huge penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) in the 2-wheeler and 3-wheeler transport segment followed by a slower but growing adoption in the passenger-vehicle space.

Additionally, there is an increased focus on biofuels such as ethanol, methanol, etc. The transition to Bharat-Stage (BS) VI emission regulations in the medium and heavy commercial vehicle sector has helped to enforce stricter emission norms on traditional fuel-driven commercial vehicles. Advanced engine system designs coupled with electronic controls and other innovations are driving improvements in efficiency and fuel economy.

Que: How have you seen the industry harnessing technology and innovation to advance energy transition and sustainability initiatives? What role has customer behaviour played in this?

Ans: The adoption of any new technology by the customers hinges on three major factors: Technical feasibility, Commercial viability (i.e. total cost of ownership), and Accessibility/Availability.

Customers increasingly value sustainability and decarbonization and they are willing to pilot and experiment with newer technologies that contribute to a greener world. For example, the purchase of green stocks, household appliances with high BEE certification, and electric vehicles (EVs) as status symbols, etc. However, unless the technology and ecosystem can help in the fulfillment of the above three factors, a meaningful and sustainable shift in adoption remains questionable.

Many industries are actively investing in zero-carbon technologies (ZCT) such as hydrogen, battery, etc. However, widespread adoption of these technologies will take time, as these technologies need to cross the thresholds of the adoption factors. Hence, many industries are also investing in and actively promoting the use of ‘bridge technologies’ which incorporate aspects of traditional technologies, thus reducing the adoption time while leveraging some benefits of the ZCT. For instance, in the transport sector, the Hydrogen Internal combustion engine (H2 ICE) uses much of the existing ICE architecture (hence no major time and money needed to validate designs and acceptability) while tweaking it to use a zero-carbon fuel such as hydrogen. In the power generation sector, gas turbines traditionally using natural gas are being modified to be suitable to use hydrogen and greener fuels to the extent of 75% of the fuel mix! Additionally, industries are also investing in carbon-capture technologies to capture the emitted carbon for meaningful storage and utilization.

Efficiency in energy and fuel consumption is being enhanced through digitalization.

This involves making assets intelligent (able to communicate with the digital ecosystem), connecting them to the cloud, and utilizing the data for predictive analytics and subsequent action. Digitalization also facilitates connecting to a larger network of energy/fuel-consuming devices/hubs and optimizing consumption across the network.

In addition, industries have realized that on their journey towards decarbonization, they are navigating unchartered territories, especially in technology. Hence, they are increasingly partnering with start-ups and academia to collaborate on newer technologies and actively investing in scaling promising technologies. This collaborative approach is a welcome trend.

Que: In your opinion, how do existing and evolving power solutions contribute to carbon emission reduction strategies across industrial and automotive sectors?

Ans: ‘Power solutions’ is a broad term, capturing the entire gamut of solutions from powering transportation and equipment to powering the grid. That way, power solutions account for more than half of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions! Hence their role in decarbonization is crucial.

Decarbonization or carbon emission reduction strategies need to be viewed in three ways:

1. Reducing the carbon emissions from traditional power solutions and fuels: As much of the landscape is still powered by traditional solutions, this aspect plays a significant role in decarbonization. In the automotive and industrial sectors, this is being addressed through the increased use of emission-norm-compliant products, such as CPCBIV+ compliant gensets and BSVI-compliant vehicles.

2. Increasing the share of zero-carbon (ZC) power solutions/fuels in the mix: This involves developing and integrating ZCTs. In the power sector, this includes various technologies developed to efficiently use and integrate RE into the grid. In the automotive space, it includes technologies such as hydrogen and batteries.

3. Capturing the emitted carbon: This strategy is being addressed through various methodologies - Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) solutions.

Additionally, hybrid products and bridge technologies, which combine elements of traditional and zero-carbon solutions, serve as transitional steps between reducing emissions from traditional solutions and adopting ZC technologies.